
MIDI DU FESTIVAL — OPERA AND THE PEOPLE, FROM REALITY TO REPRESENTATION: AROUND LOUISE
- Moderator David Christoffel for Métaclassique
- Language In French
- Video available for replay until Tuesday 30 June 2026
In his opera Louise, which premiered in 1900, Gustave Charpentier brought the people of Paris to life, thanks to his realistic staging of a panoply of characters living on the butte of Montmartre – including local tradesmen known for their distinctive shouts (the famous “Cris de Paris”). From this example, the discussion will broaden into a reflection on the representation, and sometimes even the participation, of local populaces and the “social body” in opera – in particular, through the chorus, the quintessential embodiment of a “collective” on stage.
WITH THE PARTICIPATION OF: Clément Noël (musicologist, research associate at the BnF), Juliette Rennes (sociologist, director of studies at EHESS), Benedict Kearns (choir master – Louise) and Julie Pasturaud (mezzo, roles of Marguerite and La Laitière – Louise).